February 26, 2010 –ATLANTIC OCEAN – Perhaps there is no better place to see this growing tectonic plate agitation and accelerating state of geological change than in the forces tearing at Iceland, the Eastern African Rift and in the Atlantic Ocean near the Tristan da Cunha which lies near the MAR boundary. According to geologists, the Atlantic Ocean began to form when the African and South American plates were thrust apart about 120 million years ago. Ocean floor spreading continues at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where relatively shallow rising magma erupts into basalt lava forming low ridges on the ocean floor, pushing Africa north-eastwards and South America north-westwards at a current rate of about 2cm a year. Tristan da Cunha is not on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge but is a surface expression of a deep-seated hot spot some 400 km east of the ridge (see map right). Hot spots (The Hawaiian Islands are another example) such as these receive magma from deep in the earth’s mantle. A swarm of earthquakes occurred beneath Tristan da Cunha during the nights of 28 and 29 July 2004. The main swarm lasted about 8 hours and occurred 30 km below the volcano. The Tristan volcano is about 2060 meters high. We believe we are seeing early signs of a potential volcanic awakening of the Tristan volcanic hotspot on the seismograph below as the sea floor spread. –The Extinction Protocol